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Queensferry crossing

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Scotland’s magnificent new roadbridge across the Forth estuary, the Queensferry Crossing, is due to open in May 2017. Extraordinarily in an age when big projects are often in the headlines for spiralling costs, it has been procured for around a third of its original budget.

According to Shackman, "following ministerial announcement at the end of 2007, no future functional use of the existing roadbridge was envisaged. But in early 2008, a second investigation gave an improved prognosis for the rate of cable deterioration. This, together with removal of general traffic – which constitutes some 15% of the cable loading – provided hope that a functional use for the existing roadbridge might be possible.

"Additionally, if the Forth RoadBridge was to be retained then it could also continue to accommodate the pedestrian and cyclist facilities. The new bridge could therefore be slimmed down significantly."

On 30th August 2017, the Queensferry Crossing officially opened to traffic. Despite severe weather hampering the timetable for delivery, the project was hailed by the Scottish Government for coming in £245m under its spending budget.

The finest examples of civil engineering from the last three centuries now sit side by side by side across the Forth Estuary. Each bridge represented a leap in engineering at the time and broke new records.